Aura Minerals quits Canada for Nasdaq

South America-focused gold and copper miner Aura Minerals (TSX: ORA; Nasdaq: AUGO) says it’s done with investors in Canada a just as the company books record results.

April-to-June adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization reached a fourth consecutive quarterly record high of $106 million (C$145.7 million) as gold output grew 7% over the first quarter, Aura said this week. The release followed Aura raising $196 million on its new Nasdaq listing in July.

“In the last four to five years [on the TSX], most of the investors are more interested in junior mining, but we are not a junior miner anymore and the investors prefer junior miners or very large companies,” CEO Rodrigo Barbosa told The Northern Miner in an interview on Thursday. “We are in between. We don’t feel we could attract enough interest from Canadian investors.”

The company’s graduation of sorts to Nasdaq from the TSX underscores how the U.S. equity market offers exposure to a broader base of institutional investors, the growing challenge for the Canadian market to provide enough liquidity and valuation, and how some Canadian companies are increasingly positioning themselves as global stories rather than Canada-centric plays.

Market rewards launch

Two days after Aura launched its Nasdaq public offering on July 8 its share price jumped to an historic high of $39.45 apiece. Shares traded for $35.09 apiece on Friday morning in Toronto.

Delisting from the TSX, still subject to regulatory approval, could take effect in one or two months, Barbosa said. The $2.9-billion market cap Aura plans to maintain its listing on Brazil’s B3 exchange.

Aura’s move aligns with a trend of Canadian junior miners exploring dual listings on the Australian Stock Exchange, as they seek better market exposure. The market capitalization of mining and metals companies on the ASX is also larger.

Productive quarter

The Canada exodus adds to an eventful second quarter for Aura. In early June, it purchased AngloGold Ashanti’s (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG) Mineração Serra Grande (MSG) gold mine in Brazil for $76 million.

That was followed days later by a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Aura’s Era Dorada project in southeast Guatemala. That report envisions a 1.4-million-oz.-per-year gold mine with a 17-year life, an after-tax net present value of $485 million and a 24% internal rate of return. Capital costs are pegged at $264 million.

“We have a very clear strategy to grow,” Barbosa said. “We are super proud to be delivering on the strategy that we laid out back in 2020 when we joined the Brazil Stock Exchange.”

That strategy focuses on delivering on its greenfield projects, such as Almas and Matupá in Brazil, increasing investments in exploration to raise mine lives and continuing to grow through M&A.

Looking ahead at the rest of the year, Aura plans to declare commercial production at its Borborema gold mine in Brazil and close the MSG transaction with AngloGold Ashanti in the third quarter, Barbosa said. It also aims to complete a feasibility study for Era Dorada by the end of this year or early next year.